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Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Francona is uniformly upset — MLB exercises pull over him — NEW YORK - When Terry Francona exploded out of the dugout in the seventh inning for an argument over whether Kevin Youkilis had gone out of the basepath on a J.D. Drew grounder to third, he did more than get ejected for the fifth time this season.
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Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Over their heads — Red Sox get brushed off by Yankees — NEW YORK - With the two pitches from Joba Chamberlain perhaps still echoing in Kevin Youkilis's ear, Yankee Stadium emptied its fill of 55,067 seemingly satisfied fans. Not only had they seen their nascent phenom lob …
Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:
Rivals went chin to chin once again — NEW YORK - Clearly, these two teams are constitutionally incapable of just playing baseball games. — No, with the Red Sox and Yankees, there's always more. We get headhunting, ejections, overturned calls by umpires, Major League Baseball fashionistas …
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
History Repeats as Yankees Sweep Red Sox — The sweep was more emphatic last August, when the Yankees rampaged into Fenway Park and won five games to bury the Boston Red Sox. The best the Yankees could do this time was to win three at Yankee Stadium and chisel a chunk from Boston's sizable lead in the American League East.
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Sources: Cubs get veteran Trachsel from O's — FOXSports.com, Updated 4 minutes ago — LIKE THIS STORY? — The Cubs, fortifying their rotation before Friday's midnight deadline for setting postseason rosters, have obtained Orioles right-hander Steve Trachsel for Class AAA right-handed …
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MLB.com, MLB Trade Rumors, Oriole Magic, MetsBlog.com, Camden Chat, Baseball Musings, FanHouse and Lone Star Ball
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Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Orioles trade Trachsel — The Orioles have traded RHP STEVE TRACHSEL to the Chicago Cubs for 3B SCOTT MOORE and RHP ROCKY CHERRY. — Trachsel, 36, went 6-8 with a 4.48 ERA (140.2IP, 70ER) in 25 starts for the Orioles this season. He allowed 3 earned runs or less in 17 of his 25 starts …
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Red-hot Phillies pressuring Mets in NL East — So what clinched it for you? Was it Aaron Rowand's remarkable swinging bunt Tuesday night? CB Bucknor's game-ending interference call on Marlon Anderson Wednesday night? — Pat Burrell's third-inning homer yesterday, which landed just one fan over from the Phillie Phanatic?
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New Jersey Online
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Chicago Sun Times:
Inside pitch: White Sox — St. Louis Cardinals free agent- to-be David Eckstein (above) is becoming target No. 1 on the Sox' offseason wish list. He would give them a leadoff hitter with a career .349 on-base percentage and a sure-handed shortstop. Plus, he and Sox catcher …
Rob Neyer / ESPN:
Neyer: The wild week that was … When this week began, just four days ago, we had an inkling that things might get interesting. All you needed to do was look at the standings on Monday morning, along with the upcoming schedule. The combined difference between the first-place …
Discussion:
Hot Foot
Robert Macleod / Globe and Mail:
Wells may need surgery — TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays' star centre fielder Vernon Wells, who signed a $126-million contract extension last winter, might require off-season shoulder surgery. — So says general manager J.P. Ricciardi. — "I think we'll look at it a little deeper …
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Batter's Box Interactive …
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Cubs have the look of winners … CHICAGO — If you're a student of history, billy goats and guys named Bartman, you know there are certain words you should always be wary of using in the same sentence as the term Cubs season. — Magical comes to mind. — Or enchanted, perhaps ... mystical, maybe ... special, possibly.
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Cub Town
Susan Slusser / San Francisco Chronicle:
Dodgers acquire A's Loaiza — This A's season is as memorable for the number of players dealt or simply let go as it is for the whopping injury total. — Right-hander Esteban Loaiza, claimed on waivers by the Dodgers before the A's 5-4, 11-inning win over Toronto on Wednesday …
Bill Center / San Diego Union-Tribune:
Longtime Dodgers hater now is one — David Wells bears no ill will toward the Padres. — Just the same, he hopes to, well, "beat" his former team tonight when he returns to Petco Park as a member of the Dodgers. — "How strange is this?" Wells admitted Wednesday morning via telephone from Dodger Stadium.
Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:
Call-Ups Likely Will Be Old and New — Major league rosters are allowed to expand from 25 to 40 tomorrow, and the Washington Nationals are likely to get two waves of reinforcements — the first as early as tomorrow, the next after most minor league seasons are over on Tuesday.
